Joanne shrugged. “I’m not sure. It's the only time the man had this week. You accepted the meeting. I was about to tell him he needed to make it work during usual hours before you okayed it.”
I sighed. “I probably approved it without looking too closely at the time.”
“I can reschedule or cancel, no problem. I’m wary of leaving you here with a man at the end of the day, anyway.” Her mom mode was kicking in. “I'm going to stay until he leaves.”
I shook my head. “No, you most certainly are not. I know you pick up your grandbaby on Thursdays from school. You, ma’am, are leaving per usual.”
Joanne beamed at me. “You’re right, but I really don’t want to leave you alone with him. He could be a bad person. A rapist or a murderer. Can Mia stay?” she wondered, before wincing. “Scratch that, you would be the one protecting her instead of the other way around.”
I snickered. “Your true crime podcasts are getting the best of you, Joanne. I’ll be fine. I’ll have my knife in its holster and my pepper spray in my pocket.” I walked around the side of the desk pulling my pant leg up to reveal my ankle black leather boot with the knife resting above it. “You know I’m always prepared for the worst.” I grinned with a wink.
“You’re ridiculous.” She turned back to her computer. Without another glance she added, “and I love it. But I still don’t understand your need to carry that thing around all the time.”
“Never know when you might be in a pickle.” I shrugged.
I walked back to my office and plopped down heavily in the chair. This week was such a wash. My email was overflowing, and my task list was never ending. We needed another employee, but the time lost up front for interviews andtraining almost wasn’t worth it. I could only hope we hired a quick study. I glanced at the clock, seeing there wasn’t enough time to start anything before lunch so I went over all the candidates I had interviewed thus far.
The first was an older lady who was probably the sweetest person I had ever met that I had interviewed on Monday. Her hair was a cotton ball on her head and her clothes were right out of the seventies. I would’ve hired her on the spot, but there was the small dilemma that she didn’t know how to use a computer, even though her resume said otherwise. Her last job had been working for an elderly lawyer who didn’t believe in computers. How he was able to continue his practice was beyond me.
I met with a young woman on Tuesday who had a degree in accounting and was interested in learning financial planning. She had one of the strongest resumes we got, but when I interviewed her she didn’t speak. Her answers were the shortest possible, and it seemed to go beyond nerves. Unfortunately, a receptionist position probably wasn’t the best fit, but I spent the last half of the interview going over how to answer questions. I sent her on her way with the advice to keep trying and maybe apply for an assistant position instead, maybe one without a greeting aspect to the job.
The rest of the candidates had been decent, but none of them stood out to me though I could probably get away with hiring one of them. Maybe one of the last people would shape up to be a great fit.
Speeding through lunch, I squeezed in a good hour and a half of work before my two o’clock. I strode into the lobby after Joanne emailed that the next candidate had arrived. I greeted a small woman who looked like she might be mid-twenties, a little younger than Mia, but she was well put together. Dressed in a pencil skirt and silk blouse, I shook her hand and wasimpressed by her firm grip and eye contact right out of the gate.
Leading us into the conference room, I offered water or coffee which she politely declined. I settled at the head of the table while she perched on the chair nearest the door after we exchanged pleasantries.
“So, Ms. Anderson, what compelled you to apply for the position?”
She had a million-dollar smile. “I hope to work as an advisor or something similar someday and want to get myself into the field. I thought a receptionist position would be a good starting point.” Her response was quick, but not artificial like she had over-rehearsed.
I opened the folder with her resume and cut straight to the point. “What do you think you can bring to the table for my company if I hire you?”
That got a pause. Good. I didn’t want a robot for a receptionist.
She tucked her hair behind her ear before taking a barely visible deeper breath. “I think I would be a great asset because I also want to learn. This wouldn’t just be a job for me. I could go be a receptionist at any business with a front desk, but I want to work here. I researched your firm, and it seems to be one of the best rated in the state.”
Damn. This one was legit.
The interview went seamlessly, and before I knew it, thirty minutes had passed. I saw Cassie out after letting her know I would be in touch and turned to Joanne. “She was a good one. I’m excited about her. You said we have three more?”
Joanne shook her head. “Yep.”
I nodded. “I don’t think we will do any other interviews. Unless I’m blown away by one of the last three, she’s it.”
Clapping filled the room from behind the desk. Joanne litup like a Christmas tree. Being a receptionist slash office manager was hard, and I was ecstatic the firm was doing well enough I could finally get her off the front desk.
I smiled down at her. “I’m going to go try to answer some emails while I wait for the next one. I have half a mind to cancel the rest, but that would be shitty of me.”
“Are you absolutely sure you’re okay with being alone with the next one?” she called after me.
“Yes, mama bear,” I said over my shoulder before disappearing into my office.
No sooner than I had clicked into an email my phone rang. Picking it up without glancing at the caller ID, I grabbed my note pad and pen.
“Raven Lovelace.”
“Raven, hello! This is Teresa with the CFP board. How are you doing?”
